


Change

by Causa



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 17:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Causa/pseuds/Causa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl refused to be there for the birth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change

Pearl refused to be there for the birth. She was in the house, of course—she couldn't stand not to be—but she would not be in the room. Garnet held Rose's hand while Amethyst stood aside in awe, and Pearl was upstairs, cleaning. Rose tempered herself, her breathy moans quiet, but Pearl could hear all of them, and they invaded her ears and rattled her shaken brain against her skull. But it was worse when the sound stopped. The silence fried her mind and when the cry of something slimy and foreign reached her ears she wanted to scream. She didn't, because what if she thought wrong, and Rose was down there and heard her screaming in response to the thing she loved so much? In the following minutes of hushed happiness and anguish it became apparent that Rose was not down there. Pearl could hear her own breathing and it was loud and broken and unsettling. 

"Pearl! Come see!"

Amethyst's husky voice was light and giddy.

"It's over now."

Even Garnet's was tinted with mirth. 

Pearl heard nothing from Greg except muffled sobs which she assumed were his. 

She did not respond to them. She did not go downstairs for several days, until Garnet cornered her. 

"Come and help," she said. 

Pearl shook her head and crossed her arms, and said evenly, "I don't want to." 

"You have to." 

"I never signed up for—" 

"He's her legacy." 

Pearl felt as though she was being strangled, and in retaliation her body pressed itself forward; she gestured aggressively to her side and the roof above them. 

"Him?" she spat. "This is her legacy. That Earth isn't crawling with bastard gems is her legacy. Not some human." 

Amethyst had appeared in the doorway. "Why the hell did you stay here if you hate humans so much?"

"Because I—" she began indignantly, then her voice faltered. She felt hot and her throat was closing. She closed her eyes.

"He has her gem," said Garnet. 

"He does?" 

Pearl was not sure what she thought would happen to Rose. At the birth, she assumed, Rose's gem would break, irreparable, and would be stored; Pearl would take it from Garnet, take it and hide it in her room and hold it each night and guard it with her life, perhaps guarding it always, never leaving. Her mind had accepted that as the most likely future—what would she be missing from Earth anyway?—and the idea had become more and more appealing as time wore on. 

"It is," said Amethyst. "And he looks like her. He's got her eyes." 

Pearl had not gone downstairs since Rose died. Rose died. Rose died. 

"Come help us."

It was that thing that killed her. It was her choice, but even someone as wise and wondrous as Rose could be wrong. Greg was complicit in it. 

"Why doesn't he take care of it?"

"Greg?" said Amethyst. "Oh, he has been. He's looking for a job now though. Knowing him, he'll be looking a while." 

The girl smiled, but Pearl did not. She crossed her arms. 

"If he's gone and both of you are here, then who's watching Rose's legacy?" 

Amethyst left promptly. 

"Rose's gem," Pearl said quietly. 

"Yes," said Garnet. 

"How did that work?"

"I don't know," said Garnet. "It's a marvel. When it happened there was a lot of light. Then he was there—Steven, with his gem where his mother's was."

"Rose's gem," Pearl said pointedly. 

"Whether it is the very same or one similar I am unsure," said Garnet.

"If it's hers—was it cracked?"

"No."

Pearl licked her lips, and spoke softly. "Is there some way of…getting her out of there?" 

"Unlikely." 

"In all possible futures?" 

"Unlikely."

The weight of death engulfed her and she lowered herself onto the floor, rubbing at the hem of her skirt until it started to fray. 

"As a half-gem, he's half our responsibility," said Garnet. "His father will raise him until he's old enough to use his powers–then we take over." 

"He's human," Pearl said. "He's not our responsibility." 

"Protecting them is our responsibility." 

Pearl sighed. 

"Rose wanted all of us to be in his life."

The past tense was unsettling but Rose was unable to cry under the crushing sadness and the dread that was bubbling in her stomach. 

"I—"

"Say hello to Steven!" 

A small, swaddled thing was thrust into Pearl's face. As her eyes focused she first noticed the crop of dark curling hair—not entirely unlike Rose's own—resting upon pale skin, weak skin, that had wrapped itself around and under Rose's eyes and her nose. Past the undefined face, tiny arms, and torso was that beautiful pink sheen, that familiar radiant glow that filled her with warmth. 

"What did I say?" said Amethyst. "Isn't he cool?" 

Pearl realized that Rose was in him and that this last trace of her would die with him. She held him tightly against her chest and did not let him go for days; the little thing seemed not to mind at all, never crying, nestling himself comfortably into the crook of her arm while she fed him and while he slept. 

"You've had him long enough, Pearl, it's my turn," said Amethyst. 

"No," said Pearl, pulling the infant closer.

"Give him here. Three days ago you didn't even want to see him." 

"I don't point out all your hypocrisies," said Pearl. 

"Like what?"

"Like—"

"Shut up, you guys," said Ruby. Pearl was not sure how long the gem had been there. Amethyst, apparently, hadn't noticed her either, for she was now inspecting the room.

"Where's Sapphire?" 

"She needed some alone time," said Ruby softly. 

They were in the same room for some time but they did not speak. Steven had fallen asleep in Pearl's arms and she focused her attention on his gentle, rhythmic breaths. 

"Greg should be here any minute now," said Amethyst. "He had, like, 8 interviews." 

"Maybe he got in an accident on the way back," Pearl muttered. 

"Pearl!" shouted Amethyst. "Rude! That's—"

A strident wail rose up from Pearl's lap, causing her to nearly drop the infant in shock. His screams made her heart race. She sat, limp, staring at the thing in her arms. 

"Do something!" yelled Ruby. The child screamed louder. The door opened. It was the human. Pearl pulled the screaming child to her chest; he did not stop. 

"Steven," the man cooed, rushing to the couch. Pearl made eye contact with him. She tightened her grip on the infant. Steven wailed again, shaking her to her core, and she surrendered him warily. 

"Any luck?" said Amethyst. 

"No," said Greg with a shake of the head, rocking the baby in his arms, "but I have a plan." 

The infant stopped crying.


End file.
